From Social Work to Network…
Some 5,000 students have been a part of the Grow with Google Scholarship — a US-focused program offering learning opportunities to a dedicated and diverse group of incredible individuals. Udacity invited students to share their experiences in their own words, and we were delighted to receive some truly powerful stories of transformation and success. Today, we’d like to share one of our favorites.
I believe that most young adults, when we hit college—or even post college— don’t know what we want to do with our lives. The big question growing up is: “What do you want to be?” This question stuck with me for what seems like a lifetime.
I was introduced to coding by a free online coding website and found out that I truly enjoyed developing. It was my new found passion. I loved creating and solving problems. It was just the perfect fit for me.
At that point in time in my life I was working at Big Brothers Big Sister as an Enrollment Specialist. My job there was stressful and demanded a lot from me mentally. By the end of the night I was exhausted and found it hard to learn code, but I was still determined. I decided to leave my stable job and take what I thought was a less stressful role at Newark Housing Authority, working as a Leasing Specialist. Although the job was less demanding, it still took a lot out of me mentally. I still could not find the mental space after work to learn how to code. So, my next step was probably the biggest and scariest risk of my life. I left this new job for a part-time role at Hallmark, putting cards away. I took a steep financial hit during this time.
I first came across the Google Challenge Scholarship with Udacity on Facebook. I remember thinking to myself, “Omg! This is my chance!” I applied with much fear, thinking I possibly wouldn’t make it in. But I would never let fear stop me.
January
Home, depressed, and worried if I made the right decision. I checked my email and cried in disbelief when I discovered that I was chosen!
‘At this moment I knew I made the right choice. It wasn’t easy, and the struggle was real, but it was worth it! I never believed in something so much.”
The Google Challenge was, in its exact words, challenging. It was all completely new to me. Growing up in poverty, I was not exposed to much technology, so I started completely from scratch.
April
The deadline to complete the challenge was April. Here I was barely at the finish line. I am internet shy and rarely went on the scholarship Slack Channel for help because everyone seemed to grasp concepts that I couldn’t. I searched through forums to see the questions others were posting. Though that did help for a while, I reached a point where I needed to ask my own questions. I finally decided to reach out to the student community.
“I have to say that the students on Slack are the most understanding, relatable, and helpful individuals I have ever come across. I thought I was alone, but I truly wasn’t.”
When my program came to an end, I immediately added the Google Challenge course on my resume. I started searching through jobs on Indeed out of curiosity and applied to a few. I remember thinking to myself , “Hey let’s see what happens!”
To my surprise I actually got a callback and I went to the interview. The woman I was interviewing was so intrigued about the Google Challenge course, and I explained to her my process through that time, and how I was waiting to hear back about the full Nanodegree program. She was so impressed by the Challenge I took that they actually hired me on the spot!
“I had not expected to get hired and change careers so quickly. Every sacrifice immediately felt worth it at that moment!”
Health Monitor Network
My new company was originally a magazine company that has now gone digital. My position is Web Production Specialist, and my role involves receiving files with a whole bunch of images, which I then convert to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code. I am currently working under the direction of an MIT graduate, so I’m able to receive a lot of support and mentorship from him as well.
Udacity’s Nanodegree Program
This program has helped me get to where I am by just giving me the knowledge of how to code. Also, having it sponsored by Google—being such a household name—impressed my employer. I come from a social work background, with no degree, so for me to be able to have this new opportunity and career path makes me forever thankful to Udacity and Google.
Successfully happy…
“With this new career change it has most importantly made me happy—I love my job!”
I am not stressed all the time. Sure, coding can have its frustrating moments, but nothing feels more blissful when you are able to figure it out! Not to mention, the increase in salary has put me back at ease.
So far, I have been able to get a car and start a gym membership. Those may appear to be small things, but they’ve had major impacts in my life. I have been overweight pretty much my whole life, but my new job does gym membership reimbursements, so I have been going three times a week for three months so far, and I’ve lost a total of 20lbs.
“Most importantly, Udacity changed the confidence I have in myself. Recently, New Jersey Community College started offering free tuition to students starting in Spring 2019. This past week, I enrolled and signed up for classes to get an Associates in Computer Science. I have never felt so motivated in my life!”
The Nanodegree program even gave me more than a jumpstart in my career. I have actually been helping some of my colleagues with projects they have, and everyone looks to me for advice on their code.
In short, the Nanodegree program pretty much helped me change my life around—as cliche as that might sound!
I just want to thank Google for sponsoring me, and Udacity for selecting me. And I want to thank all the mentors and all the students on Slack. You guys don’t know how much you have contributed to my success! ❤
Thank you Crystal for sharing your story with our readers! We’ll be publishing more of our favorite stories from the Grow with Google scholars shortly, so check back soon!
